Dutchman tapped to head UN Ebola mission

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations announced on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) it has nominated Peter Jan Graaff of the Netherlands as the world body’s new chief of mission to fight Ebola. Graaff is replacing Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed at the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), after the Mauritanian diplomat was appointed to special UN envoy for Yemen. Graaff will work closely with Special Envoy on Ebola David Nabarro, along with governments in the region. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “expresses his sincere gratitude to Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed for his exceptional work and leadership of UNMEER, and for his commitment to ensuring the affected countries are on the road to recovery from the unprecedented Ebola outbreak,” a statement read. Graaff, 55, has served since October 2014 as Ebola crisis manager for Liberia, one of the countries most affected by the epidemic, along with Guinea and Sierra Leone.